A Reductionist Approach in Curricular Planning for Teaching Language Arts

Abstract

Contemporary education faces multiple challenges that encumber today’s public school teachers, especially those in English Language Arts (ELA). One aspect remaining consistent over the decades is the imbalance between the amount of curricular material teachers are directed to teach and the time school districts allot to do it. It is likely a contributing factor to burnout and attrition in the faculty workforce. This essay presents counterintuitive reasons for proposing the implementation of a “proof of concept” intra-school research project that would demonstrate the potential value of a reductionist approach to the amount of content required in curricular designs. It may have the potential to increase cognitive capability of students along with reducing stress on teachers; not only by curtailing the number of texts for student study, but by incorporating methodologies of how texts are selected, analyzed and taught as well as students’ creation of their own.